Four qualifying tournaments are over. The winners have been announced. 24 teams from different regions will strive for victory at the PGL Major Antwerp 2022. In this material, we will tell you about the teams that have qualified for the major and note the best players and organizations that have surprised us. If you missed all the game days, this text is for you.
The PGL Major Antwerp 2022 participants
Sixteen teams from Europe, 6 from America, and 2 from Asia will compete against each other to become the best CS:GO team. As usual, the organizations are divided into three stages. The first 8 teams got to the Legends Stage (the main tournament). Sixteen other participants will have a mini-tournament of a play-in format, where the remaining 8 competitors for the main stage will be determined. The new RMR-tournaments system allowed to select more than 5 CIS teams, although they were not able to take the chance. As in Stockholm, the CIS region will be represented by Natus Vincere, Cloud9 (ex-Gambit Esports), Outsiders (Virtus.pro), Team Spirit. The only change is forZe.
The RMR tournaments team from CyberMeta
This time, Oleksandr "s1mple" Kostyliev hasn't become the most accomplished player but had the best stats among the snipers. Dmitriy "sh1ro" Sokolov was close, but the star of Natus Vincere did more good for his team. The sniper for Players lost in impact to his teammate, Sergey "Ax1Le" Rykhtorov. The rifler got an astonishing 1.51 ranking and became the strongest player of the European RMR B. Ax1Le has finally demonstrated his real level of game, top 5 world player, this year. Copenhagen Flames suddenly won the European RMR B. Young rifler Jakob "Jabbi" Nygaard who had often been on the sidelines was the main reason for their success. Martin "stavn" Lund is a stats genius. The regular leader of Heroic doesn't show outstanding stats most of the time, but always earns high points, so he gets into the team, just like in Katowice. His Danish team has outplayed NaVi for the first time since 2019 and qualified for the major without losses. Of course, the team cannot do without the most prolific player in the tournaments. Yuri "yuurih" Boian from FURIA got a 1.55 ranking and didn't feel any pressure at the American RMR.
Who has surprised us?
The Danish were extremely lucky with their opponents, but we shouldn't belittle their merits. They have kept up with the elite teams since the last major. This time, two victories over SINNERS and Sprout were enough to slow down Ninjas in Pyjamas getting into the Legends Stage. The players still get quite modest salaries and are ready to transfer to a richer organization at any moment, as it was with Jason Lake and his Complexity Gaming. The other team that charmed the audience with its performance was BIG. The Germans suddenly replaced k1to with Krimbo, which has paid off. Our editors and Western analysts agreed that the German roster would most likely fail to qualify for the major. Still, BIG beat this skepticism hollow, defeating its difficult opponents (FaZe Clan, Outsiders, SAW). Both teams (Copenhagen Flames and BIG) still seem to be Legends underdogs, but you shouldn't underestimate them.
After the Swedish fiasco, Team Spirit had two replacements, the team has been written off many times, but the players have made it to the main tournament. The roster got to the RMR via Open Qualifier and was lucky with a coin toss at the competition (ASG, SINNERS, Anonymo, ENCE, Endpoint). However, we shouldn't belittle the players' achievements. We can be happy that the team is returning to its old positions.
Who surprised us was an FPL stack of Kosovar professional players and a Swiss rigoN called Bad News Eagles. The team's decider was the opening match against Entropiq where the team managed to win in the overtime. The key outcome predetermined the further draw and the roster's path. Let's see what play they will show at the main tournament. We should also say a couple of flattering words about forZe, whose patient work has led to qualifying for the main tournament with 3-1 stats. The drawing played its role, but the team had to be lucky at some point. The Latin American 9z organization, which grabbed the last slot in its RMR, also had a beautiful story. The players' tears of joy made many CS:GO fans cry.
Who has disappointed us?
If you read our announcement of the European RMR B, you know that we classified Entropiq as a "Legend." Everything turned out completely different. To put it mildly, the team failed 1-3, losing to teams with a lower rating. Aleksey "OverDrive" Biryukov said the roster would undergo some changes.
We have told you several times about the lucky drawing of some teams, but OG Esports and MOUZ had another fate. The teams started the tournament with a face-to-face encounter and then fought against top teams, which didn't allow them to go further. It's a shame that OG cannot participate in the main tournament. MOUZ got a karmic answer for the situation with Nathan "NBK-" Schmitt. Their final offender, Team Vitality, made the fans feel nervous again (by the way, the roster is supported by President Emmanuel Macron of France). But individual actions of some players saved the situation. We could certainly mention Evil Geniuses, like in our previous materials, but "do not speak ill of the dead."
The main favorites of the PGL Major Antwerp
The Danes from Heroic have overcome the hurdle represented by Natus Vincere. They have played in this roster for a year and have a strong moral character and ambitions. The team has all chances to get high again. They should only overcome their fear and self-doubt in the decisive semi-finals matches. NaVi is the current champion. The rumors about replacements are subsiding, and captain Kirill "Boombl4" Mikhailov makes bold to have a winning strike at the majors, comparing the team with Astralis. The roster didn't train together before the Belgian championship. Natus Vincere will fix this mistake. It is the betting companies' favorite, along with FaZe Clan. Karrigan's team won two major tournaments in 2022 and isn't going to slow down. Getting into the finals against its old opponent, Cloud 9, would be a wonderful story. Commentators on social media jokingly demanded that American investors revive the CS:GO roster. They did it amazingly. Now former Gambit Esports players defend the colors of the former major triumphant. The Cloud9 managers did a brilliant thing when they waited for the players' qualification for the PGL Major Antwerp and then announced the signing. Money from the stickers will recoup a significant amount of expenses. We are waiting for the FaZe Clan — Cloud9 finals. As for G2 Esports, it's all about Nikola "NiKo" Kovač. When he is alright, the team is the main favorite. When he is sulky, it is just a good opponent.
Who can surprise us?
The Swedes have demonstrated they don't need Nicolai "dev1ce" Reedtz. Patrick "es3tag" Hansen took a sniper's rifle and handled his new role better than in the last few months. Ludvig "Brollan" Brolin is getting used to his new partners but has already demonstrated high-quality gameplay. Most likely, the accomplished Dane won't come to the main tournament, but the team can fight for high positions without him.
At the American RMR, the Brazilians declared their ambitions in the fight for the main trophy. They were head and shoulders above the other participants. FURIA has recently played at the ESL Pro League Season 15 where it made it to the semi-finals. Its style is unique and often makes its rivals surrender. Today, its roster can impose a fight on any opponent and take a step forward.
The PGL Major Antwerp 2022 Challengers stage will start on May 9, and soon we will return to you with a detailed analysis and announcement of the tournament.
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